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Quileute Shifters
Although the Quileutes call themselves werewolves, they are not werewolves in the traditional mythological sense. They are actually shape-shifters who take the form of a wolf. Unlike the Children of the Moon, mature Quileute werewolves are able to phase by choice. Another fundamental difference between Quileute werewolves and the Children of the Moon is that Quileutes in their wolf form retain their human minds, reasoning abilities, and personalities. The Quileute werewolves consider themselves the designated protectors of their human tribe. They see vampires as enemies to themselves and all humans. TRIBE STRUCTURE: The members of the Quileute tribe live as a group in the Quileute Nation on the La Push reservation and are governed by a council of elders. The tribe consists of everyone who is a descendant of another Quileute. The Quileute pack is a subset of the tribe; every member of the pack is a member of the tribe, but the majority of the tribe are not members of the pack. Moreover, most members of the tribe are not aware of the reality of werewolves. Only the members of the council and the pack are in on the secret. While the tribal elders work closely with the pack, only those individuals with the ability to phase are actually classified as members of the pack. The leader of the pack is referred to as the Alpha. The role of Alpha wolf is inherited; the oldest descendant of the previous Alpha has the rightful claim to the position. If, for any reason, the oldest descendant of the last Alpha refuses the position, the Alpha title can be claimed by either the next closest relative of the last Alpha or by the chronologically oldest member of the pack. In such a situation, each member of the pack must initially choose to support this Alpha candidate. After that support is given, the Alpha has the ability to impose control over the other members of the pack, and no member can refuse the Alpha’s commands. According to tribal tradition, the Alpha wolf is not only the head of the pack, but also the chief of the entire tribe. As the tribe is now governed by council, the Alpha takes the position of the most senior tribe elder, despite his age. One factor affecting which members of the tribe transform is the number of vampire scents in the area. Throughout Quileute history, the pack has usually consisted of three members. With most vampires traveling alone or in pairs, there was never a need for more than three werewolves to defend Quileute land. However, with a large vampire coven settled in the area, the tribe members with the strongest blood ties to the former pack are not the only ones who transform. Everyone in the tribe who has any relation to past wolves has a chance of joining the new pack. As more vampires enter the area in response to the resident coven, even more tenuous bloodlines result in new werewolves. Recently, as a result of the size of the Quileute werewolf population and the accompanying tension, the pack split into two separate groups. For the first time in Quileute history, there are currently two Alphas, each with his own pack. There are presently seventeen members of the two werewolf packs. Inheritance Not every member of the Quileute tribe has the potential to transform into a werewolf. Only those who can trace a direct bloodline back to the first shape-shifter, Taha Aki, are born with the potential to become shape-shifters themselves. The first transformation occurs between the onset of puberty and approximately age twenty-five, and is based on two factors: heritage and the proximity of vampires. The direct descendants of Taha Aki are born with twenty-four chromosomal pairs rather than the twenty-three pairs of a normal human. It was once believed that the extra chromosome could be passed down only to male descendants, but that has been proven false; in Eclipse we saw the first female tribe member transformed. This extra chromosome will not have any effect on the carrier if he or she is not in close proximity to vampires during all or part of the critical time between the onset of puberty and the age of twenty-five. If the potential werewolf is not exposed to vampires within this window of time, transformation will never occur. It is the scent of the vampire that triggers the reaction; a potential werewolf would not have to actually see or touch a vampire, only cross his scent. SIGNS OF IMMINENT TRANSFORMATION: If a tribe member meets both conditions for transformation, he will go through a number of physical and psychological changes. First, a male will undergo a noticeable growth spurt, affecting both height and musculature. For a female, the physical changes are much more subtle, mainly denoted by the definition of muscle rather than bulk or height. Both males and females will then experience a drastic rise in body temperature, one that a typical human would be unable to survive. At the same time, he or she will begin to have dramatic mood swings and brief, sudden episodes of nearly uncontrollable rage. When the transformation is very close, he or she will begin to tremble and shake during these moments of rage. PHASING: After the shaking begins, the first transformation, or phase, can happen within seconds if the affected person does not calm himself. All the initial transformations are triggered by rage, until the werewolf can learn to control his reactions. The actual act of phasing lasts only an instant. There is no gradual shift, no in-between form where the werewolf appears to be a mix of human and animal. Because the wolf has more than four times the mass of the human, to an observer the change looks explosive as the human expands to the size of the wolf. This impression can be intensified if the werewolf did not have time to remove his clothes before phasing; the clothes rip apart from the pressure of the expansion, adding a tearing sound to the otherwise soundless transformation. Young werewolves are often unable to control their phasing, shifting forms whenever they feel anger. This unpredictability, combined with the massive size of the wolf form and the suddenness of the phasing process, makes werewolves dangerous to any humans in proximity to them during the change. Standing too close to a young werewolf during phasing can result in unintentional injury, or even death. As young werewolves gain more control over their phasing, they have time to remove clothing, preventing it from being destroyed in the shape-shifting process. Most carry a leather strap with them so they can tie their clothes to their legs before phasing. With experience, werewolves eventually master phasing and can control when they shape-shift. APPEARANCE: The Quileute werewolves are very similar to normal wolves, but are several times larger. An average Quileute werewolf would stand at about the height of a horse, but with greater body mass. Besides being bigger than a normal wolf, the werewolves are also supernaturally stronger and faster. Their teeth and claws are sharp and strong enough to be able to damage a vampire; they can also run as fast as vampires. (Just as with normal humans, there are individual wolves who are faster than other wolves.) In their human forms, werewolves are stronger and faster than humans, but not enough to take on a vampire without phasing. The wolves’ fur ranges in color, through many shades of brown, gray, and black. The length of a tribe member’s hair in human form affects the length of his werewolf coat. For example, if someone has long human hair, the coat in wolf form will also be longer. SIGHT: A werewolf’s eyesight is more than ten times sharper than a normal human’s, twice as sharp as the average bird of prey. Though a normal human can easily spot a vampire at a glance if she knows what she is looking for, a werewolf—even in his human form—sees much more than the pale skin and characteristic eye color. To werewolves, vampires look shiny and angular, almost like moving crystal. SENSE OF SMELL: Like wolves and other predators, werewolves have a heightened sense of smell. Of special note, vampires have a distinctive scent that werewolves are particularly aware of, in both their human and wolf forms. In general, for werewolves a vampire’s scent is uncomfortable to the point of pain—a sickly sweet smell that burns. Individually, each vampire has his or her own personal scent, which is easily distinguishable to werewolves. They can pick up this scent from a good distance, or from any item a vampire has touched. SPEED: Quileute werewolves possess great speed. They can outrun motor vehicles. A fast werewolf can outrun an average vampire. In human form, they are faster and have greater endurance than all normal humans. TELEPATHIC COMMUNICATION: Werewolves are pack animals. They are at their most effective, whether hunting or fighting, when they work as a team. In their wolf forms, the werewolf pack shares a group mind; every member of the pack hears the thoughts of every other member. This telepathic communication allows them to work as one, coordinating instantaneously and moving with perfect unity. The pack’s true power isn’t in each individual wolf’s strength, but in this ability to work together as a cohesive group. When in wolf form, werewolves have no privacy. The ability to smoothly act as a team comes at a price. When in wolf form, werewolves have no privacy. All thoughts, no matter how fleeting or seemingly insignificant, are transmitted to other pack members who are also in wolf form. Feelings are transmitted, too—even those that are personal or potentially embarrassing. When more than one wolf pack exists at a time, werewolves from one pack cannot communicate telepathically with werewolves from the other pack. The only exception is the Alpha, or leader, of each pack. The Alpha can decide whether to share his thoughts with another Alpha and can select which thoughts to send, in the same way that he would choose to speak aloud. HEALING: Quileute werewolves heal very quickly, in both human and wolf form. When they are wounded, they immediately begin to heal. Minor injuries heal in as little as a few seconds. More serious injuries, like broken bones, typically repair themselves in a matter of days. Quileute werewolves are not indestructible, and although killing one is easier than killing a vampire, it still takes supernatural strength or great skill to seriously wound a werewolf. An exception to this rule is vampire venom. In a werewolf’s system—whether he is in his human or wolf form—venom does not begin the process of transformation into a vampire. Rather, it acts as a poison that retards the healing abilities of the werewolf. Venom alone will not generally kill a healthy werewolf; however, in combination with other injuries, it can be fatal. MORTALITY: Once a werewolf transforms, his aging speeds up until he reaches the age of maturity, roughly twenty-five. At this point, as long as he continues to phase, he remains at that age. It’s possible that a werewolf could choose to live this way forever and enjoy the same limited immortality as a vampire, but most Quileute werewolves give up phasing in order to grow old and die alongside their family and friends. Once a werewolf gives up phasing altogether, he slowly begins to age again until his aging reaches the normal human speed. RANK: The wolf pack has a very complex system of rank that helps keep them organized and prepared for all eventualities. The Alpha’s absolute authority over the pack makes them an effective fighting force, and if something happens to the Alpha, there is no debate about how to proceed. The pack does not lose effectiveness due to confusion. Every Alpha has a second in command—referred to as his Second—who immediately assumes control if the Alpha is incapacitated. Ranking under the Second is the Third, who is next in line to act as Alpha. In the case of a large pack, each Second and Third has his own Second and Third, and so on down, so that each wolf has someone in line to step into his responsibilities within the pack if something should happen to him. In a large pack, during a fight the wolves tend to operate in three-wolf pods. IMPRINTING: Some werewolves experience a bonding incident called imprinting, in which they become unconditionally tied to a human of the opposite sex. There are several theories on why imprinting occurs: Some believe that imprinting ensures the passing on of the werewolf gene; others believe that imprinting happens to produce larger, stronger wolves in the next generation. The werewolves do not know the answer for certain. Imprinting occurs only after a werewolf’s first phasing. It can happen with anyone, regardless of previous personal feelings. Imprinting happens the first time a werewolf sees the human object of his imprinting; if the werewolf does not react to a human the first time he sees her after he phases, he will never imprint on that human. If the werewolf does imprint, he is forever changed. From the second he sees the object of his imprinting, he will do anything to please and protect her. All other commitments in his life become secondary, even his commitment to the pack. The relationship between the imprinting werewolf and the human imprinted upon is one of total acceptance and support on the werewolf’s part. No matter the age or living conditions of the human, the werewolf automatically becomes whatever the human wants him to be, at the loss of his personal free will. If the human is young, the werewolf becomes the perfect platonic playmate and protector. As the human ages and changes, the werewolf instinctively switches roles to fulfill the human’s needs. It is against pack law for any werewolf to kill the object of another werewolf’s imprinting. Such an act would be devastating not only to the wolf who suffered the loss, but to the entire pack. Given the telepathic ability of the pack, each pack member would suffer the pain of the wolf whose mate had been killed. Even if the death of a wolf’s mate was an accident, the two wolves involved would fight to the death. - The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide